Looking for reverse phone lookup directories can become confusing. You may start out with a simple Google search, believing it will immediately appear and you'll discover the information you need with minimal work. Yet what actually comes up are various paid websites which range from under a dollar for one lookup to upwards of fifteen dollars for a long term subscription.
Editing your search to indicate free reverse phone lookup delivers additional pay directories sneaking in claims that they are completely free. They may allow you to enter the number without mention of a fee and deliver very basic information such as the city and state, but in order to obtain the important information such as a name or address you will then be asked to hand over a fee.
Absolutely free reverse phone lookup is not possible at this point. Providers of this data put out great efforts and even money to compile information including unlisted residential numbers, cell phone numbers, and even address histories. These businesses have no purpose to collect this information other than to pass it on to consumers for a small charge.
Where you go from this point depends on how badly you really desire to reveal the person behind that phone number. In the age of identity fraud many people won't just access the cheapest site and enter their private information. Finding the most reputable services is just as crucial as when you purchase tennis shoes or purses over the internet.
Getting the information you desire isn't very hard, once you locate a legitimate lookup directory.
There are many competing directories all offering different fees and delivering different combinations of data. When you simply want to determine the name behind a strange number calling your home or need to determine exactly who your child is chatting with at all hours of the night, you probably don't have the patience to rate different websites.
The most effective answer may be to go with a brand that many people have grown up with and access the online version of the white pages. There is a sense of legitimacy with a common household name that has been around for years. You can search a phone number and get very basic information here for free, including if the number is a cell phone or landline and a map indicating the general location of a home or business. You won't get much beyond that, especially if you are researching a cell phone or a residential number that is unlisted.
Be aware at this point because there are links on these pages that will deliver more detailed information, such as names and desired addresses, for a charge. These are links to different webpages, so you have left the familiarity of the white pages website so you need to verify the legitimacy of these databases just as you would with any other. Yellow pages itself is not going to give you much information besides a general location; you will have to search elsewhere for more, especially if you wish to research a cell phone or unlisted number.
The most effective way to locate reverse phone lookup websites for basic needs is to go to a proven directory with a small one time charge collected through a secure payment system. If you only need a one time lookup then it is obviously not worth the money to sign up for a more detailed directory. Find one that delivers a single lookup for a small price, often just a buck or two.
Forking over a huge fee for very limited information or being asked to pay by sending personal information by email or other non-secure forms are clear warnings of a scam.